


The final cut is the hardest one of all.

by archaeologist_d



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Captive, During Canon, Episode: s04e06 A Servant of Two Masters, F/M, Gen, Love/Hate, Major Character Injury, POV Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 17:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16665304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archaeologist_d/pseuds/archaeologist_d
Summary: Morgana had Merlin right where she wants him. If only she could kill him like she was supposed to.





	The final cut is the hardest one of all.

Underneath her seething fury was pleasure and sharp pain and Merlin moaning under her hand.

Morgana had wanted him since the day he arrived at Camelot, all gangly limbs and cheekbones, with that loose-limbed stride, and heart-sweet smiles.  The way he watched her, bringing her flowers and understanding, and above all, his innocence in the ways of the world, touched her as no one else could.

She couldn’t have him, of course. Uther would have had his head if he had suspected. But she could draw Merlin in, allow an almost distant kind of friendship, at least in the beginning. Poor innocent that he was, he had fallen for her, and she almost returned the feeling, well, as much as she could allow herself to feel in those first heady days.

But somehow she held herself apart. The court politics would have crushed a lesser woman, but she was Gorlois’s daughter after all, and she kept her distance. And as the days and years past, she grew into her power, knowing at last who and what she was. Not a Gorlois but Pendragon.

High Priestess of the Old Religion.

And Arthur’s enemy.

In the intervening years, Merlin, too, had lost his innocence, choosing Arthur – _Arthur_ \- over her. Thwarting her at every turn, even without magic, he was ever a thorn in her side, and her enemy in all things.

She never forgave Merlin for abandoning her early on, and then there was that final blow, his attempt to poison her when she had done nothing to warrant it.

He tried to _murder_ her.

It was only through her sister that she managed to survive, and even then, Merlin and his drive to protect Arthur at all costs destroyed what little family she had left.  

Now, Merlin was a prisoner in her grasp, hanging there helpless, hopeless. Hands tied above his head, isolated and alone, abandoned by her foolish brother, Merlin’s moans of pain were not so much piteous as pleasure to her ears. Payback for abandoning her to her fate.

Yet hiding beneath that chaotic rage within her, as she tormented him with knives and agony, taunting him with death and despair, was a tiny spark that lingered.

She would need to cut that final tie, stamp out that spark, become more than just a woman needing adoration, needing an innocent to love her. She would need blood and vengeance and a throne to sit upon. A fool in love would not help her.

But a fool in hate might.

Arthur believed in Merlin, let him in when no one else could breach those prattish barriers of his. Morgana knew more than anyone how much Arthur esteemed Merlin, and now she would use it against him.

Merlin as murderer was the ultimate irony, of course, considering what he’d tried to do to her. More to the point, if he succeeded in ridding her of her loathsome brother, he would be executed for regicide. Two deaths and her blameless in them both.

It was a perfect plan.

Or it would be if only she could look at Merlin and not see the innocent he used to be. If only she could not see the love that once flowered between them, and her traitorous heart longing for what once was.

If only.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: During A Servant of Two Masters 04.06. Prompt: Prompt conflicting emotion, a writing exercise from Coinelot Reincarnated.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the BBC version of Merlin; It and Shine do. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.


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